USA Dot Com is a blog covering politics and government from a conservative Christian perspective. Verne Strickland is a 50-year veteran of investigative journalism. This blog offers a take-no-prisoners style with a modicum of biting satire. Verne and his wife of 55 years, Durrene, live in Wilmington, NC.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

RALEIGH — The U. S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce has requested that Gov. Bev Perdue provide information spelling out how she was able in August to release North Carolina employment data that was supposed to be protected by an embargo.

In a letter sent to Perdue Dec. 21, Committee Chairman Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., cited a Carolina Journal Online story published Dec. 19 reporting that Perdue, in a speech, publicly discussed information from the state’s monthly employment report before its scheduled release.

The letter also stated that emails between the state’s Employment Security Commission (now the Division of Employment Security) and Perdue’s office showed information was shared that may not have been authorized by the cooperative agreement between the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and each state that is meant to protect the unauthorized release of protected employment data.

A CJ Online story published Monday reported BLS had concluded that Perdue’s August remarks before the Rotary Club of Asheville violated the cooperative agreement with BLS. At the time, state ESC Labor Market Information Division director Betty McGrath reported the violation to the BLS regional office in Atlanta, and BLS Regional Director Janet Rankin followed up with interviews of ESC officials. Rankin would not say if any further action was taken.

The committee gave Perdue until Wednesday to produce copies of the state’s cooperative agreement with BLS; CJ requested that and other related information last week and was told the request was being reviewed by DES lawyers.

In addition, Kline’s letter asks the governor to produce a series of documents and communications, including those:

• “related to the protocols your office and [the N.C. Employment Security Commission] have put in place to protect against the unauthorized dissemination” of employment data;

• “relating to the potential unauthorized released of BLS data;”

• between the governor’s office and ESC relating to unemployment data, and;

• between ESC and the U.S. Department of Labor related to unemployment data.

I PRAY THAT OBUMMA CARE WILL BE REPEALED AND WE WILL HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT!!!!! WHEN YOU READ THIS IT WILL MAKE YOU MAD!!

LOOK AT WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO US!!! EVERYONE IN CONGRESS WHO VOTED FOR THIS BILL SHOULD BE KICKED OUT IN THE STREET - OR WORSE!!

THIS ARTICLE NEEDS TO BE READ BY ANYONE WHO HAS TO RESIDE IN THE USA FROM NOW ON. IT IS REALLY UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!This is the law that was passed. God have mercy on us

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THIS...

At age 76 when you most need it, you are not eligible for cancer treatment
What Nancy Pelosi didn't want us to know until after the healthcare bill was passed. Remember she said, "pass it and then read it!!." Here it is!
______________________________
Obama Care Highlighted by Page Number

THE CARE BILL HB 3200

JUDGE KITHIL IS THE 2ND OFFICIAL WHO HAS OUTLINED THESE PARTS OF THE CARE BILL.
Judge Kithil of Marble Falls, TX - highlighted the most egregious pages of HB3200

** Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. Residents, even if they are here illegally.

** Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts. ** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - ACORN). ** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?)

** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors' fees.

** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception.

** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an "end-of-life planning" seminar every five years. (Death counseling..)
** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.
HAD ENOUGH???? Judge Kithil then goes on to identify:

"Finally, it is specifically stated that this bill will not apply to members of Congress. Members of Congress are already exempt from the Social Security system, and have a well-funded private plan that covers their retirement needs. If they were on our Social Security plan, I believe they would find a very quick 'fix' to make the plan financially sound for their future."

- Honorable David Kithil of Marble Falls, Texas
All of the above should give you the ammo you need to support your opposition to Obamacare. Please send this information on to all of your email contacts.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The re-release of Ilario Pantano's book includes a proclamation of his innocence by Dr. William Rodriguez III, the recently retired former chief deputy medical examiner for special investigations at the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C. Associated Press file photo

Published: Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 4:43 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 4:43 p.m.

Ilario Pantano's well-documented shooting of two Iraqis in 2004 became ammunition for political foes during his recent election bids and put questions in the minds of voters.

But now, as the Republican Wilmington resident again seeks a seat in Congress in 2012, Pantano says the recent words of the military medical examiner who inspected the remains of the two men after they were exhumed in 2005 should put those questions to rest.

"In my mind, it really closes the book," Pantano said.

Pantano recently re-released his book detailing the killings and the Article 32 hearing – the military equivalent to a grand jury proceeding – that followed.

"Warlord: Broken by War, Saved by Grace" also includes an April 2011 letter to Pantano from Dr. William Rodriguez III, the recently retired former chief deputy medical examiner for special investigations at the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C.

In the letter, Rodriguez expresses frustration that premeditated murder charges would be brought against Pantano without first examining the remains of the dead Iraqis. Without that evidence, Rodriguez writes, Pantano's prosecution hinged on the testimony of one member of the platoon that Pantano led.

Rodriguez also expressed concern that the military rushed to prosecute Pantano, then 33, as the shootings closely followed the incident at Abu Ghraib prison, a black eye for the military.

When the bodies were exhumed about a year after the shootings, with Pantano's case still open, Rodriguez conducted the examination.

What he saw, he said in a phone interview with the StarNews, made it "very clear" that the men were not shot from behind, as some had suggested.

"I said to all assembled, ‘Here is solid scientific evidence that these two Iraqis were shot from the front and not in their backs,'" he wrote in the letter. "Lt. Pantano is innocent."

Rodriguez said the positions of bone fragments fractured by bullets were a clear indication that the shots came from the front. Also, he said, copper oxidation stains on the front side of the skeletons also suggested the bullets entered from the front. Bullets, Rodriguez said, are encased in copper jackets that peel away and break up in the body. Over time, the copper oxidizes and leaves stains, he said.

Rodriguez said he read Pantano's book and has spoken with him since he sent the letter. He said Pantano's life might be much different if the bodies had been examined before the military brought charges against him.

"I feel that he is a true patriot, a caring individual and a good man," Rodriguez said.

But whether the new developments in the years-old case will improve his election chances in 2012 remain to be seen. Pantano is expected to face state Sen. David Rouzer of Johnston County in the 2012 GOP primary for the 7th Congressional District seat. The winner likely would challenge U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-Lumberton, in November. Pantano lost an election bid against McIntyre in 2010.

Articles about Rodriguez's letter have been published recently in The Washington Times and other publications outside of North Carolina.

UPDATE FROM VERNE STRICKLAND JAN. 1, 2012Articles about Rodriguez's letter have been published recently in The Washington Times and other print media outside of North Carolina. Why not in the Star-News? Patrick Gannon knew about the forensics report exonerating Pantano. But Gannon put the Times article on ice. Later, a scorching letter to the editor complained that the Star-News was sitting on a story showing Pantano was innocent by scientific evidence. That letter to the editor was also held back. Today (Jan. 1, 2012) Pat Gannon and the Star-News let the truth out. Was this letter to the editor buried to spare the Star-News from embarrassment? And did it force the paper to finally do its duty? USA DOT COM will publish the Letter to the Editor about this media ethics issue.

What he saw, he said in a phone interview with the StarNews, made it "very clear" that the men were not shot from behind, as some had suggested.

"I said to all assembled, ‘Here is solid scientific evidence that these two Iraqis were shot from the front and not in their backs,'" he wrote in the letter. "Lt. Pantano is innocent."

Rodriguez said the positions of bone fragments fractured by bullets were a clear indication that the shots came from the front. Also, he said, copper oxidation stains on the front side of the skeletons also suggested the bullets entered from the front. Bullets, Rodriguez said, are encased in copper jackets that peel away and break up in the body. Over time, the copper oxidizes and leaves stains, he said.

Rodriguez said he read Pantano's book and has spoken with him since he sent the letter. He said Pantano's life might be much different if the bodies had been examined before the military brought charges against him.

"I feel that he is a true patriot, a caring individual and a good man," Rodriguez said.

But whether the new developments in the years-old case will improve his election chances in 2012 remain to be seen. Pantano is expected to face state Sen. David Rouzer of Johnston County in the 2012 GOP primary for the 7th Congressional District seat. The winner likely would challenge U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-Lumberton, in November. Pantano lost an election bid against McIntyre in 2010.

Articles about Rodriguez's letter have been published recently in The Washington Times and other publications outside of North Carolina.

"Clearly, the Pantano campaign thought this was an issue in the 2010 campaign, and this could be an attempt to put it behind him before the campaign kicks into high gear," said Jonathan Kappler, research director for the N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation and a close follower of N.C. politics.

Rouzer, Pantano's opponent in the May primary, declined to comment on the Iraq incident or the recent development.

"My campaign is going to focus on the issues and what we need to do to move the country forward and my conservative record in the state legislature," he said.

For his part, Pantano said he believes he was exonerated six years ago, when the Marine Corps decided not to pursue murder charges against him. But, he wrote in his book, the Rodriguez letter "clears the air around any mystery that lingers among conspiracy theorists."

He said it shows that he's not a "cold-blooded murderer" and that he didn't execute the two men.

The letter, Pantano said, also shows that there was an urgency to prosecute him, not find the truth.

"Not only was I not protected by the military, I was made an example of," he continues. "I have known this all along, but until I received this letter, there was no proof."

In 2005, a Marine Corps official decided to dismiss the murder charges after a hearing in Jacksonville, in part because of the autopsy evidence.

On April 15, 2004, Pantano led his platoon to search a house. There, two Iraqi men were stopped as they left the area in a white sedan. After ordering the men to search their own car, Pantano shot and killed them, firing as many as 50 shots. The Iraqis had made a threatening move, he said, and the rules of engagement dictated that he had a right to defend himself.

Pantano admitted placing a sign on the car with the slogan, "No Better Friend No Worse Enemy." A Marine Corps official deemed that ill-advised.

Pantano said he didn't believe the letter would have a strong impact his 2012 election bid.

"I think my election chances are very good without this information," he said.

He added that he believed the "whisper campaigns" would continue about Iraq.

"For years, I have been living with and struggling with the fact that you can't put my name into Google without charges of murder coming up," Pantano said.

Speaking of the Internet age, he added, "An allegation today, even if it's a false allegation, never goes away."